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Passover Chocolate Walnut Cookies

My friend Paulette sent me this passover cookie recipe, and though I was already baking marshmallow pecan logs, pie, chocolate cake, and macaroons, immediately after reading the recipe, I knew I had to bake these, too. They came out fudgy and airy, and were definitely my favorite pareve dessert at the seder. If you like chocolate, give these a try. They’re simple enough to make, kosher for Passover for everyone involved, and impressive looking, which is the most important part. Plus, they freeze well. Score! I promise these were displayed on a pretty plate – we just did that after the holiday started, so you don’t get a picture. This is how I transported them to my host’s home.

A note on kosher for Passover powdered sugar: it stinks. Because they don’t add corn starch to it, the sugar can stick together at the bottom of the can, so make sure to shake that can before you purchase it and make sure it’s not all dense and stuck at the bottom. I had to scrape the sugar out of the can, which made it hard to use and hard to measure. It also lengthened my prep time on this dessert by a lot. So next time I’m going to shake the can! Also, that makes me think my newly purchased confectioner’s sugar was leftover from LAST Passover, I just hope I’m wrong, because I ate about a dozen of these cookies.

Don’t like walnuts? Make these with pecans, instead. Or peanuts, or cashews, or whichever is your favorite nut. I stuck to the original because a lot of people I know enjoy walnuts in their cookies, but it’s completely up to you.

Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies, adapted from Francois Payard:

Ingredients:

2 ¾ cups walnut halves

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

½ cup plus 3 tablespoons cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon salt

4 large egg whites, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract, if you can find some that’s kosher for Passover. If not, omit – I did.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Toast the walnut halves for about 9 minutes, until fragrant. Chop when cooled.

3. Lower oven to 320 degrees.

4. In a large bowl, mix the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt. Add the chopped walnuts, and mix well.

5. Whisk in the egg whites until batter is moistened, making sure not to overnbeat.

6. Spoon tablespoon-sized drops onto greased baking sheets, placing about an inch apart, and bake for 14-16 minutes (mine took 16) until the tops are glossy and slightly cracked.

7. Let cool on a rack.

I made 29 cookies with this recipe, and measured each precisely with a tablespoon.